Sir Alex salutes defensive strength

Manchester United FC manager Sir Alex Ferguson lauded his team for their defensive qualities as they overcame LOSC Lille Métropole 1-0 at Old Trafford to reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals with a 2-0 aggregate win, leaving his opposite number Claude Puel blaming his side's lack of experience at the highest level.

Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United manager
It was a very important game as we have had a couple of bad years, not getting into the quarter-finals. But getting into the last eight is not our aim. Our defence was very important tonight, as it has been in recent games. They had a few good opportunities from free-kicks but we dealt with them really well. Looking at the amount of goals scored in the four matches tonight, defence will be very important in the next stage. The goal came from a fantastic cross from Cristiano Ronaldo. We were hoping [Henrik Larsson] would score in his last game. He has had a big impact at the club and his contribution has been very good.

Claude Puel, Lille coach
I think we played pretty solidly but needed a litle spark. We had a few good opportunities from free-kicks and started the second half very well, but we just couldn't score the first goal. The team is lacking in experience, it's a very young side and they will learn a lot from matches like this. Over the two games we have shown we belong at this stage of the competition and I would like to congratulate my players on their performance this year. We will be back next year.